Customer Reviews

The Little Door Slides Back (New American Poetry)

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4 star:		(1)
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While I'm not sure I'd put Jeff Clark up there with Robert Desnos (yet), I do see potential in his archaic, surreal, bizarre and mysterious work. Some will no doubt come away from "The Little Door Slides Back" with the feeling of being put on, or have little patience with what the guy is trying to say. Or they may suspect he is trying to say nothing at all; for my part, I see substance here. There are moments where you are absolutely transfixed to the page and he keeps you there in an anarchic headlock. (The "green bits of razor blade in her teeth" line did not leave my mind for days). Reading this straight through without stopping creates a strange deja vu *reminiscent* of Mallarme. I would recommend this to anyone with patience, and anyone interested in revitalizing the bloodless world of contemporary poetry in the US, peopled with Ted Koosers and Billy Collinses running around pretending to matter. Give this poet a chance.

In a challenging but effortless explosion, Captain Jeffrey Clark marches forth into a land of BBQ sauce and happy games. Reading this large handful of goodness makes me want to run, hide, and take a long nap with a little baby puppy. Cuddling is fun, especially when it is cold outside, and you have a comfy pooch to bring back dreaded memories. Master Clark does an excellent job of excelling... case in point with the piece entitled "Happy Dogs and Sad Possums". I could read this over and over and over. Once.

In one of the more interesting debut appearances of late, Jeff Clark manages rather nicely a homage to Desnos and Trakl,among others, in what can perhaps only be described as a delicious and playful end-of-the-century treat. Jeff Clark shows us here that America's love affair with surrealism and symbolism is far from dead; it is an ongoing project of improvement. The short prose pieces are especially imaginative (and remeniscently Baudelairean) in nature. All the more surprising and remarkable if one believes the recent APR(American Poetry Review) writeup of Jeff Clark as an FBI agent. It's good to see that the FBI is continuing its tradition of recruiting the brightest and the best.

Here's a better way to invest in your future than throwing cash at the NYSE. Buy up several copies of this book. Wait a couple of decades. Sell it to some starry-eyed young poet who wants to collect his hero's oeuvres (first edition thanks to mummy's trust fund). You're rich!!!